The Expos came into being in the 1969 expansion that split the leagues into divisions. They finished last their first two seasons, but bright spots included Coco Laboy being named TSN NL Rookie of the Year in 1969 and Carl Morton winning the BBWAA 's Rookie of the Year award in 1970. Expo Bill Stoneman pitched the first ML no-hitter outside the United States in 1972, and the club contended in 1973 under manager Gene Mauch. The team dropped back to the 100-loss level in 1976 after Mauch left. The development of stars Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, and Larry Parrish led to the team's first winning season in 1979 when they won a franchise-record 95 games and finished second. In the strike-split 1981 season, the Expos won their division, but through the first half of the decade they earned a reputation as a club that was great on paper but just above average on the field.

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RELATED LINKS » 1969: Baseball Crosses the Border » 1981: Monday Climaxes Dodgers’ Sprint to the Pennant » 1982: Player Gets a Hit for Different Teams in Different Cities on the Same Day » 1982: Let's Play Two, Joel Submissions » Some Expos Nostalgia by Maxwell Kates » Ken Hill at Montreal Expos' last game by Dolores Huard Ask The Experts » What is an Expo? » Who was on the 1994 Expos? Around the Web » Sox break out the offense from suntimes.com » Brandon Phillips (Montreal Expos) from espn.com Jump directly to Library content from any website!

The Expos' principal owner and chairman of the board, Charles Bronfman of Seagram's, has held his position since the team's inception; only two other principal executives in the NL have a longer tenure. (SFS)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » April 8, 1969: Expansion teams Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Pilots make things look easy by winning their first regular-season games. The Expos win by scoring 11 runs against the Mets to win 11–10. Pitcher Dan McGinn cracks the Expos first homer to help keep the Mets winless for openers. The host Royals edge the Twins in 12 innings, 4–3. » August 8, 1971: Behind Lee May's two homers and five RBIs, the Reds beat the visiting Montreal Expos, 6–3. His 2nd homer is a 3-run shot in the 9th. » July 21, 1997: Henry Rodriguez, in a 7-for-76 slump, bangs a two-out, ninth-inning grand slam as the Montreal Expos beat the visiting Rockies, 8–4. For Colorado, it is their 16th loss in its last 18 games. » August 12, 1997: Rickey Henderson leads off the 7th with his 250th career homer and Greg Vaughn adds a two-run double in the inning as the San Diego Padres rally to beat the Montreal Expos, 6-4. » May 19, 1998: The Montreal Expos defeat the Houston Astros, 4–2, in the first outdoor game played in Montreal's Olympic Stadium since 1991. The retractable roof, which has been prone to tearing in high winds, was removed on May 10. A new permanent roof will be installed after the season. » August 19, 1998: The Expos beat Arizona, 8–2, giving Felipe Alou his 521st career win as manager of the Montreal Expos. Buck Rodgers had 520. Alou's good luck charm is P Dustin Hermanson, who allows three hits in seven innings. Hermanson was also the starting and winning pitcher in Alou's 400th, 450th, and 500th win. » March 16, 2000: In a 3-team deal, the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos all exchanged first basemen. Toronto trades David Segui to Texas. The Rangers then send Lee Stevens to the Expos. Montreal then swaps Brad Fullmer to the Blue Jays. » July 7, 2000: David Wells (15-2) posts his ML-leading 15th win in Toronto's 6–3 victory over the Montreal Expos. Wells becomes just the 2nd pitcher since 1988 to win 15 games before the All-Star break. The portly ace wins his 13th consecutive game on the road, stretching back to September 7, 1999. His only mistake is serving up a gopher to reliever Felipe Lira, who connects for his 1st ML homer. Jose Cruz, Jr. hits his 20th homer, joining teammates Carlos Delgado, Tony Batista, and Raul Mondesi as Toronto becomes the first team in ML history with four players hitting 20 homers before the All-Star break. » October 28, 2001: Commissioner Bud Selig says it is possible that two major league teams could be eliminated by the start of next season. The Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Minnesota Twins, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays are the teams mentioned as most likely to be eliminated. » December 6, 2001: Major league baseball reportedly gives John Henry permission to sell the Florida Marlins to Montreal Expos owner, Jeffrey Loria. The Expos are expected to be either contracted or taken over by Major League Baseball, which would buy the team from Loria in case contraction is aborted, leaving him an opportunity to own the Marlins. » February 11, 2002: Major league baseball owners approve the sales of the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos. Florida owner John Henry is selling the Marlins to Jeffrey Loria for $158.5 million, while Loria is selling the Expos to Baseball Expos LP, a limited partnership owned by the other 29 teams, for $120 million. The sales won't officially close until later this week. » February 12, 2002: Mets assistant general manager Omar Minaya becomes the first Hispanic GM by accepting the position with the Montreal Expos. Frank Robinson is also announced as the manager of the team, which will be run by Major League Baseball for the 2002 season. » December 6, 2002: The MLB Players Association agrees to allow the Montreal Expos to play 22 home games in Puerto Rico next summer.